Just got back from a mid-week run (in the dark, in 29 degree F weather) and composed this blog in my head while running the three miles, so, after a nice warm shower I am sitting down and catching up the last month or so (and, going back five months to something I forgot about in my last post, although I'm not sure how I didn't remember it!).
The 2011 LLS Team in Training Spring Season officially kicked off at "Kick-off" on January 27 - it was nice to see some of the people I ran with while I was beginning to train for Disney and catch up with some of them. On Saturday the 29th, the Team held a long run at HACC at 8am, but I wasn't able to attend because I had to work that morning. However, since I work close to HACC, after I was finished I went and ran the course by myself - I was to do 5 miles as the last long run of "pre-training", and I'm pretty sure I got close to that mileage, but since I was doing the course alone and trying to follow directions (something I am not good at), I may have not done quite 5 miles because I'm pretty sure I got a bit turned around on the State Hospital Grounds...I especially think this because my time was just slightly faster than what I know I used to run 5 miles in last fall.
The beginning of February brought the beginning of the 18-week training for the San Diego Rock-n-Roll Marathon. My mid-week 3 mile runs mostly consist of running 1.5 miles out and back - one of the routes I take takes me through State Game Lands, and the road I run on has no "winter maintenance", so it's quite different running on snow. The one day, I was lucky enough to be the only tracks on the freshly fallen snow, and that was a very peaceful, iPod-free run. However, it's not a PGC State Game Lands without some elevation! :-) Because of my schedule, I've been running in the dark a lot - either before work, or after work. I'm not sure which I prefer - running early in the morning has it's advantages - it definitely wakes me up and gets me ready for the day - but that means I have to get up earlier, and running in 9 degree F temperature is an experience in itself. Even though I wear gloves, carrying a metal mini-mag light isn't exactly conducive to warm hands. I also tend to carry mace, and I never leave without my BlackBerry (safely enclosed in a ziplock bag, of course) - I downloaded MapMyRun onto my BB and I LOVE it, especially because it has GPS capabilities (including elevation) so I can see exactly how far I am going (and how slow - haha) on new routes. So, I still have to figure out how to best run in the dark (on ice and snow) and carrying random things; I did splurge and just ordered some items off
Road ID - an ID bracelet (something my TNT Coach recommended to us all - and I can see why, especially since I run random routes, often alone in the dark with no one knowing what I am doing and where I am), a Firefly Supernova safety light, and a shoe pouch.
This past Sunday, I went out and met my Central PA TNT team members for our weekly long run. Running the San Diego full marathon, I was scheduled to run 6 miles, which consisted of starting at City Island and running around the island, across the Walnut Street bridge, up Front Street to Division Street, and back to City Island. I have learned, however, that when running any distance Coach Larry indicates, it is "at least" that distance - as in, I ran "at least 6 miles"....which turned out to be 6.61 miles! (I completed it in 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 12 seconds, but that included a short water break and having to stop for some traffic lights). Here is the group of us just before we set out (notice the snow in the background - we had to wait until Sunday afternoon for our weekly long run rather than Saturday morning because the weather Saturday wasn't conducive to safe running).
Since I've only run local 5K's previously, I decided to try to find a slightly larger event prior to the marathon just to get the "feel" of a larger race. Eric (my "not-so-little" little brother who will be running San Diego with me) suggested the
Bucks County Half-Marathon on April 3 at Tyler State Park, as he will also be running it, and we are both now registered for it. On April 16, I've also signed up for the
Lady White Rose 5K in York - this was my first 5K ever that I ran with my friend Katie. Even though a 5K is now the lowest mileage I typically do during the week at this early stage of my marathon training, I decided to sign up for it for a few reasons. First, I am trying to convince some lovely ladies to run it along with me - two of my friends both named Katie (including the one who I first ran it with, and also the Quarterback 5K), Pat (who also completed the event I will be describing in just a bit in this post, along with three other women from my church), and my cousin Courtney and her mom. Secondly, it would be nice to PR from the
Quarterback 5K (check out the link if you wish - you might see some pictures of someone you recognize :-) ) I ran Labor Day 2010 (also in York). Thirdly, because it was the first race I ever ran, and it was a struggle for me at that point, I am running it to remind me how far I've come, but also as a reminder of how far I have yet to go....and not just in the realm of running.
And now, let me go back to September 11, 2010...I can't believe I forgot to blog about this in my last post! On this date, I completed a mini-tri called the "Women in the Wild Adventure Challenge" held in Boswell, PA, around the Quemahoning Dam (do not believe, for one second, that this means the terrain was flat - just the opposite!). It started with a 12-mile bike ride, complete with the "killer hill", then proceeded to a 5 mile run (also complete with it's very own "killer hill" - I'll admit I didn't run the whole thing....oh yeah, and we had to carry a blow-up sword for the run as the entire event had a medieval theme - we were all "Medieval Wenches" for the weekend), and from there participants had two options. Option 1 included a fairly tame and fun obstacle course. Option 2 consisted of "THE BLACK DEATH"....in order to qualify for The Black Death, you had to make it back from the 12-mile bike ride and 5-mile run within an hour of the first participant who chose to partake in The Black Death and head out. All we knew was The Black Death was an obstacle course through the wildnerness that very much earned its name. I was all for it - the only one in the group of ladies I went with who was willing to even consider it. The trick was just getting back from the bike and run within an hour of the leader; luckily, I got back with 12 minutes to spare (and just enough time for a much-needed bathroom break!). To get to the start of The Black Death, however, I had to bike 6 miles back around the reservoir the opposite way we came on the original bike ride. The picture above is me headed out to The Black Death....still smiling, apparently (which I was NOT doing as I was trying to bike up the last mile or so up the hill to the start of The Black Death).
The start of the The Black Death included pushing my bike up a vertical incline (no lie) to the top of a hill where we met a toothless priest who gave us our first "token" (a gold coin) and small bag - there were various check-points we had to go through and things we had to collect - other than that I had no idea where I was going but only knew to follow the sporadic pink flags, and no idea how far I would be going. Through the entire run/hike through the wilderness, I didn't come across another women, and at times I was a little worried I had gotten off-track...especially because it seemed like FOREVER before I found my first check-point, which was a fisherman....who gave me a piece of a dead fish (a real, dead, smelly fish) I had to carry to "
the queen". So, I added that to the bag the priest gave me along with my gold coin. After awhile, I then found a miner, who instructed me to crawl through the "diamond mine" and collect a "diamond" (in reality, broken glass under a tarp). After the miner, I was on my way to the "graveyard", where I had to climb through a mud pit until I found a bone with a ring on it (I really didn't get too muddy - I spied a bone (chicken, I'm pretty sure) with a nice pink ring on it pretty quickly). From what I've been told, The Black Death was about 7 miles, and I did have battle wounds on my legs (mostly from briars and climbing over and through logs). For your viewing pleasure is my "collection", dead fish pieces and all (and slightly muddy hands from digging around trying to get that bone with a ring on it). All in all, that day I biked 12 miles, ran/walked 5 miles, biked another 6 miles, and then ran/hiked 7 miles.
The location of the Women in the Wild Adventure Challenge was very close to the Flight 93 memorial, and being September 11, we decided to go to the memorial after the mini-tri was complete. We did miss First Lady Michelle Obama and former First Lady Laura Bush, as they were there earlier in the day for the memorial ceremony, but there was still a lot of people about. Along a chain-link fence were memorial ribbons visitors posted; they were very difficult to read, as were the details of 9.11.01 in the visitor's center.
As I conclude this blog post, let's not forget the initial reason for my running this marathon - to help to raise money to support the LLS mission to "cure leukemia, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families". I am personally committed to raising $2900 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and right now am still 51% towards my goal (as I was in my last post). I encourage you to visit my
Team in Training fundraising page and join me in this commitment by contributing as generously as you are able. Whatever you give makes a difference and matters - it matters to me, to the The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and, above all else, to those suffering and to those recovered from blood-related cancers; with the generosity of people like you, there is every reason to believe that a cure for these cancers is in sight!
Stay tuned for two exciting announcements (well, I think they are exciting, at least) - the one I will probably reveal in my next post....and the other (if it is even revealed at this time at all...and if it is it may not be for another two months or so until I let the cat out of the bag) all depends on something that will be occurring in my life this Saturday :-).
So, here is one of my exciting revelations that I mentioned in a previous post - well, at least I think it is exciting. The last couple of years or so I've wanted a tattoo, and particularly on my foot...I won't go into details as to why I haven't gotten one until now, but, three and a half weeks ago on January 20th, I finally did. The saying is very personal to me...in more ways than one. Please do not judge it, or me, unless you know the entire story and reasons behind it (and few do)...and even then, this story is not complete. However, I will share that it partly does have to do with running, obviously. In October 2009 while reading Redbook, I saw an ad for the annual Disney Princess Half-Marathon to be held in March 2010; when I mentioned that a dream of mine was to run that race, I was told that I "couldn't even run a 5K"....well, guess what? I have since run THREE 5K's and a mini-tri (sort of), and am on my way to running another 5K, a half-marathon, and a full marathon within the next four months...and I'm not going to stop there - my next feat will either be a full triathalon or a trail run of some sort. I may get "26.2" and "6.5.11" (the date of the Rock-n-Roll San Diego marathon) added to the "wisps" after I complete my first marathon. You can also see my Valentine's Day pedicure in this picture...and my dark polish for this "dark time in my life", as I was once told :-)
